Encouragement

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“Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?” Psalms 24:3

Today being my weekly off and after having spent the major part of the morning in Church, I visited a friend recuperating in the hospital of a neighboring town. The route winds through a long stretch of mountains. As usual, I enjoyed the drive through these mountains which I never get tired of admiring.

However, today there seemed to be something unusual and different about these mountains. What fascinated me was the way the clouds hovering over the high mountain peaks descended and then lifted again in a hazy mist. The sun was obscured by the clouds and for a moment, I thought it might rain. But the weather remained pleasant throughout and the backdrop of the mountain was just beautiful and captivating. This is one of God’s ways of expressing His love through the beauty of creation.

I was reflecting on the significance of mountains and clouds and the deeper meaning behind them. Right from the Old Testament, we see Abraham in obedience to God’s will was prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac on the mountain of Moriah. Again, God gave Moses The Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.
We read in the book of Exodus how God used to speak to Moses on this Holy Mountain. When Moses came down the mountain with the tablets of the Commandments, his face was shining. Moses died on Mount Nebo from where he was given a vision of the Promised Land. Joshua built an altar to the Lord on Mount Elbal.

In the New Testament, we see Jesus fasting for forty days and nights on Mount Temptation before he began his Ministry. Again, on Mount Tabor, Jesus was transfigured and his face was radiant as the sun. Jesus went up Mount Olives to pray regularly to His Heavenly Father. There were times when He prayed the whole night on this mountain. Jesus was crucified on Mount Calvary. Mount Zion has always been God’s favorite dwelling place as mentioned throughout the Bible.

God’s love has always been manifested in these sacred mountains. The clouds have always been in synchronization. In the Old Testament, the pillar of cloud guided Moses and the Israelites during the day when they wandered in the desert and in the New Testament, we have two instances; at the Baptism of Jesus and the Transfiguration. God’s voice was heard from the clouds declaring Jesus as His Beloved Son. The heavens were opened and God’s spirit came down on earth.

This is one way of being aware of God’s presence and feeling His love. Sometimes, we don’t need physical expressions of love to believe, we know love exists because we trust in Love. The beauty of love comes to pass only when we have experienced love in its joyful, painful and divine form.

God’s incredible love electrifies us. It is the Silver Lining in every cloud of life. We can rest assured that God is still pouring down the fire of His spirit from the clouds via the mountains upon each and every one of us.

The Heavens are always open raining down blessings; all we have to do is lift our hands up in praise and worship to receive His blessings.

Maria Franco

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